Internal-combustion engine.



A. L. mme.

INTERNAL GOMBUSTION ENGINE. AAPPLIOAfLIoN FILED JUNE ze, .1903.

1,109,637, A Patented Sept. 1,1914.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

A. L. BIKER. INTERNAL GOMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLIOATION FILED 11111229, 190s.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

A; L. RIKBR. INTERNAL 'GOMBUSTION ENGINE.

r APPLICATION FILED JUNBze, I'sos. 1,109,687.

Patented Sept. 1,1914.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

y Inventar:

.Z/zirew L. R/icewg zy im wltv'esses Qn! I MMA A. I.. BIKER.

INTERNAL GOMBUSTION ENGINE.

- APPLIoATIoN FILED JUNE 29, 1903.

1,109,637, Patented sep1;.1,v1914.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

any

A. L. RIKER.

INTERNAL' CQMBUSTION ENGINE. APPLIGATION FILED JUNBZQ, 1903.

,lOQB'',A f Patented sept. 1, 1914,.

Q5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

wzlaesses: I no enf, or

A im

'nariria`n..I srarns Parana? onirica.

ANDREW L. BIKER, OF IBRDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE LOCOMOBILE COMPANY OF AMERICA, 0F NEW YORK, N, Y., A CORPORATION OF WEST VIRGINIA.

rNTnRNAL-COMBUSTION' ENGINE.

amasar.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented sept. i, iam.

Application filed .Tune 35A, i903. Serial No. 163,500..

a. specification, like' letters on the drawings" representing like-parts.4 .A

.llfiy invention aims to provide van improved internal combustion engine, one which, among other features, will be self.- starting, reversible, and capable of being operated at any desired speed and containing provision for automatically cutting oli thev power mixture or vHuid-at any desired point. or points whereby to secure the most etlective and economical use-thereof.

My intention will be best understood from a descriptiiginof the best embodiment there ai new known to me and shown in the accompanying drawings, whereinv Figure l, in vertical longitudinal section Vshows an. engine illustrating one embodiment of my invention; F ig. 2, a vertical cross section on the dotted lines Q-2, Fig. l; Fig. 3, a top or pian view of'the engine shown in Figs. l 'and 2', Fig. 4, a detail illustrating a` portion of the inlet valve actuating cam; Fig. 5, an end view of Fig. 4; Fig; 6, a sectional detail illustrating the coperating spark making and breaking contacts; Fig. .7, a sectional detail'of' one of the inlet valve seats and its valve; and, Fio. 8, a View illustrating a typical motor vehicle to which my improved engine is particularly adapted the engine being shown in position therein.

`In the particular embodiment -of my .invention selected for illustration herein and shown in the drawing, referring first tov Figs.

1 and 2, the engine is provided with four'` vertically arranged cylinders, a, a, a, and l), shown as, tho-'ugh not necessarily, formed 1n one and the samecasting, A, which may beprovided with a suitable cooling chamber',

A throueh which a coolino 'medium ma i belcirci'ilated, in usual or desired manner. This cylinder castmgA, is shown mounted upon a crank casting, B, conveniently formed in two parts, nnirked respectively B and B',

said 'parte being separated horizontally and securedv one to the other in suitable man* ner. Qns of the crank' chamber parts, as, for instance, `that,marked',B7 is provided with means, as' 'the laterally extended arms or brackets, B2, Fig. 2, by whiclrto support .the said engine upon a suitable frame, vas

BS, which may be a part of the frame of a vvmotor vehicle.

The cylinders, a, b, contain-respectively -trunk pistons, a', b, the wrist pins whereof :are vconnected -by suitable connecting rods,

la?, b2, with the cranks a3, 3, of the cranklshafn C, gournaled 1n suitablebearings in. the crank casting andpreierably formed one half each inthe two parts of the said .-castm v i The cylinders, a, herein shown as three in -ii'urnben inthe presentembodiment of my invention, constitute the working or power cyl'iriders,y while the cylinder b is used as an .air'eompressio'n cylinder, although it will be evident 'that Athe invention is in no wise restricted to any particular number of cylinders, Whether one ,or more, used either as working or 'compression cylinders.

Each of'ti'xetworking cylinders, a, is provided With an inlet port,` d,-shown best in Fig. 'R+-surrounded by aralve sean-shown as conical and formed' 1in vthe removable valve. seat, i,:inlthe 'cylinder head. Upon this seat d', in vturn is seated av hood, (Z2, each hood, see Fig. 3, being formed integrally with and as ay branch of the 4main supply pipe, (Z3, which supplies compressed air to the cylinders from the compression reservoir orl tank, D. The air pressure in the reservoir, D, is usually maintained at about 300 lbs., while the desired working pressure for admission to the' cylinders, should be 'ordinarily at or aboutQO lbs. and to obtain this reduction, I may employ a usual pressure reducing valve, D', Fig. 8, the admission of Y a1r under 'pressure from the reservoir to and through this valve to the engine being controlled by a usual throttle valve, D2, under the `Ycontrol of a throttle lever, D?, which may be controlled from any suitable or. desired point. v

Returningnow toFig. 7, each inlet' is controlled by a,v puppet valve, d", the stein al of which isencii-cled by a suitable spring, d, see Figrl, which maintains the said I*valve normally seated; it being unseated or opened at the proper times by positive 'operating means, to beldescribed.

Referringto' 'Figf 1, each 'ofthe working cylinders has'anit'exhaust*openingv e, surrounded 'by a valve seat, which, with' its valve e', 'is constructed and operated p re cisely as described with reference to the m4 let valve seats-and valves, 'Fig-7, similar' hood, see Fig. 3, being formed integralwith,

and as a branch ofthe main exhaust pipe e3, which discharges through a suitable branch, et, leading to'any desired point.

Referring to Fig. 2, the crank casting part, B, has at its opposite sides, oii'set portions or chambers', f, g, in which are respectively arranged the cam shafts, f', and g), arranged parallel with the crankshaft, C, and j ournaled in suitable bearings formedin the crank casting. Each of these offset chambers, f, g, has a removable cover portion, f2, g2, to permit access to the inclosed parts. These cam shafts are provided respectively with gear wheels, f3, g3, which mesh with and are driven by a gear wheel,

F, fast upon the mainA crankshaft, so that rotation of the latter causes corresponding rotation of the cam shafts.

Referring to Fig. 4, the cam shaft, f',

which is herein used, as the inlet .cam

shaft,-that is, to control the inlet valves,- is provided opposite each cylinder, a, with a pair of oppositely tapering skew cam surfaces, f, f5 and coperating with each pair of these cam surfaces is a roller, f", upon the lower end of the valve actuating rod, f7, mounted to slide vertically in suitable bearings andat itsupper end 'standing under one end of a horizontal lever, f8, fulcrumed at f, upon the inlet supply pipe, d3, and overlying at its opposite end the valve stem, d5, whereby when the said valve rod, f7, is raised, the valve stem will be depressed and its valve unseated The valve actuating rod,

' f7, is maintained normally depressed, w-ith its roller, f6, in operative contact with the cam shaft or its cam surfaces by a spring,

f1", shown best in Fig. 2.

' YVith the cam shaft, f', in the position shown in Figs. 2, 4, and 5, the roller f, bears upon the said shaft at a point between the two skew cam surfaces, f'f; consequently, rotation of the said cam shaft will exercise no effect whatever upon the roller, f, its valve operating rod and valve. If, however, the cam shaft, f', be moved in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 4, its driving gear, f3, being splined thereon to permitsuch movement, the skew cam, fi, will be brought more or less underV vthe roller, f6, and according to the extent of such longitudinal movement of the cam shaft, will at each rotation of said shaft. lift the roller f?, and open the p valve controlled by it'to'a degree determinedby the particularpart of the tapered- A ---cam, whchiscaused to act upon and lift 'the rollerl lengine at rest.

a forward direction, that is, in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 2, and the higher the point upon the said cam, which acts upon the roller, f6,'the wider will be the valve opening and the later the cut-ofi.

The cam f5, on the other hand, is 'odset somewhat or askew relative to the cam f4, and is properly positioned to control the inlet valvemovement for running the engine in a reverse direction; it operating otherwise as the cam surface f* to vary the degree of opening and period of cut-off ofits valve during the reverse operation of the engine.

By sliding the cam shaft f axially, he- Vcani f"A may be brought into position to run the engine forward, the cam f5 brought into position to run the engine backward; or, the

'- shaft may be brought to an intermediate position indicated `in Fig. 4, in which it will not move the inlet valve, thus holding the To accomplish this axial shifting movement of the inlet cam shaft, said shaft is provided, see Fig. 1, with a circuniferentially grooved collar, f, which, see Fig. 8, is engaged by a yoke upon the lever controller, fn, pivoted at i, and controlled,

as to its position, by a usual notched quadrant, f1, with a coperating spring controlled latch upon the lever. this'lever, the cam shaft may be positioned as desired,to cause any desired speed or direction of the engine.

By means of Referring to Fig. 2, the exhaust cam shaft g opposite each cylinder a, has a suitable cam g3 which coperates 'with a roller, g,

'and at the end of the stroke of the-upper end of the piston therein, is provided with a supplemental exhaust g, which is merely a port in the wall of the cylinder communicating through a branch g12 with the main exhaust branch pipe e, said supplemental exhaust port being opened and closed by the piston itself cylinder.

The air compression piston b in the cylinder l), draws its supply through the spring controlled self-opening valve, b4, and delivers itscompressed air ,to the reservoir D, past the spring pressed discharge valve b in .in its movements within the .the pipe b6 leading. to said-reservoir.v

The gasolene or other hydro-carbon fuel from any suitable source, under pressure, as from a pump typified at l), is forced tothe engine through a pipe/i, Fig. 1, provided With a branch 71,', leading to each Working cylinder, and, see. Fig. '7, each branch /t communicates with a groove turned or cored i'n the valve seat d of the inlet valve, so that when the said valve is seated, escape of fuel from'the branch pipes is cut od' but when the said valve is open, fuel may escape from the said branch pipes between the valve and its seat, and is, of course, being immediateiy atomi-Zed by the inrushing air simiiltan'eously admitted through said port and in Contact therewith:

' Referring to Fig. 8, the supply of hydrocarbon oi' other fuel, through the pipe fr, is controlled by a throttle, typified at T.

The operation of the' engine may be described as follows: assumingtlie reservoir D to contain already air under pressure, slay of- SG lbs. to the square inch, which remains from the last or previous operation of the ff engine, to start the engine, the throttle valves D3, T, are opened to permit air under pressure and `i'uel to pass to carrot. the three Working cylinders'a, Whose inlet valve d4, is

tor 'the moment open; and this compressed air acts lilie steam in a steam engine to start engine. As soon as the engine 1s started,

the ljimpression piston `renevirs and maintf'iins the air pressure inthe reservoir D, Winch atoini'zes the fuel ifro'm'tiie 'branch pipes 7L", forming a combustible mixture, which, at the proper moment in each cylinder, is ignited by suitable sparking orother means iniany usual or vveli-known manner. 4`When the pistonin any cylinder reaches the end of itsdownward' stroke, the supple-l mentary port qu, is uncovered and permits l the bulk of the spent or burned gases to escape, wh atevergases remain in the cylinder during the upward or return stroke of the piston escaping through the positively opened and controllediexhaust, valve e", in

the head ofthe cylinder. By this means l obtain a very free exhaust when the piston reaches the limit of its downward stroke,

leaving practically no back pressure during the return stroke of the piston, yet byineans to insure proper runningjof the engine. l rlhe vaction of the exhaust valves obviously may be varied as desired by shifting the infv diridual cams g3 of thecain shaitoi" by changing the position ot the latter relalj,

tively to the driving gear.'

'in the present instance, `t'or a sparking I at eac-h rotation of the 'crankshaft C. is permitted to enter the several Working cylu, and as it enters each cylinder,

shaft f', whereby its igniting means, l have provided each cylinder With a usual spark plug fm, the current through which.` is produced at the required intervals, by suitable means, as, for instance, see Fig. 6, the rotatable contact m on the inlet cam shaft f and coperating with the several iixed contacts m2, one for and connected With the spa'rh plug of each cylinder 0,. The fixed contacts m2 mounted in a rotatable shell ma, which, see Fig. 2, has its hub pro# vided with a spiral groove m4, engaged by a fixed stop m5 on the gear casing or other fixed part of the engine. Thus, when the in- 'let cam shaft m is moved axially in one or the other direction to eect reversal of the engine, the saine movement will, through the spiral groove m4 cause partial rotation of the Contact carrying shell m3 to position the contacts properly for operatingthe engine in the new direction, as Well as to maintain the time of sparking always in proper relation' ship to the cut-oil@` and speed of the engine. Thus, every vchange in the position othe .cam shaft for a new cut-off brings its corre The engine also is self-reversing, like a steam engine; it being provided with means or controlling its valves, which, with a pressure constantly' at hand for starting the engine, furnishes what' is necessary for starting in either direction, at will.

The control provided tor the inlet cam osition may be determined at -Will, furnis es means for varying' the cut-oi,that is, the period of admission of the combustible-to the'cylinders pre-v ciselyas steam is controlled in a steam engine with an automatic cut-off valve motion, making it possible' to operate my improved engine ivith a high degree of economy and to regulate its speed by clit-oli as Well as by throttling at the valve D2.

l thus, obtain in an internal combustion engine substantially all the characteristic featuresoi a modern steam engine, thereby greatlyy enlarging the eld of usefulness of internal combustion engines.

' Referring to Fig. 8, I have illustrated my engine mounted in usual position upon a typical motor vehicle comprising usual v' v' rn wheels, a vframe c and body c .the engine crankshaft, hy reason of the construction of ice -iio

the engine, is geared directly to the is fshaft j, from which pionier irraiisniitt chains to the hubs of rear or driving wheels,A

a suitable diierential gear being interposed in the sa'id jackshaft in usual and wellknown manner. Thus, in a motor vehicle, the usual objectionable clutch and transmission mechanism is entirely eliminated..y

.starting engine comprising one or more power cylinders each with its working pisandthe connectionsinade as direct as would be possible with a steam engine.

A suitable controller, 'shown as a foot treadle t, is connected with and to operate the brake t", and also with and to operate thethrottles D2 and T, so that when the said treadle is depressed, it iirst closes the engine throttles and then applies the brake, and when released, first releases the brake and then opens the engine throttles.

The reservoir D is mounted with a suit- `ible relief or escape valve D, to prevent overcharging thereof.

As herein shown, the three power cylinder cranks'are set respectively, A90 degrees one from another; thus, with the single compression cylinder crank iorming a complete balance for the engine. v It may, however, in practice, be found desirable under .certain conditions to arrange lthe three Working cylinder cranks in position 120 d egrees'one from another, thereby to obtain .more certainty for starting, possibly at a lsacrifice somewhat of balancing eiect.

-My invention is obviously not restricted to the particular embodiment thereof herein shown and described, but may be varied widely within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claim i 1. An internal combustion two-cycle, selfstarting engine 4comprising a plurality of power cylinders, pistons therein, a compression cylinder and its piston, means to sup- 'ply fluid under pressure from said compreslmeans and adjustable' simultaneously with ton, a compressed Aair reservoir, means for maintaining a supply of highly compressed air in said reservoir, means constantly acting during the operation of said engine for supplying to the cylinder a mixture of fuel and highly compressed air from saidv reser- .voir for utilization in each forward stroke of` Athe piston, means subsequently to ignite said mixture and cut off said supply, Ameans to exhaust the spent gases and permit return o f the piston without, necessity of compression, said means including a normally closed exhaust passage near one end of thepiston stroke, and a constantly open exhaust pasthe.I 'explosive charge ignition means.

8. An internal combustion two-cycle, self-y iton, a compressioncylinder with its piston,

means to supply the mixture of fuelV and l compressed air from said compression cylin- 'der to said power cylinder or cylinders for utilization on each forwardstroke, means for 4. An internal combustion two-cycle, selfstarting engine having a power cylinder with vits piston, a compression cylinder with its piston, means forsupplying the mixture of icompressed air and fuel from the compression cylinder, to the power cylinder for utilization on each forwardstroke, means for exhausting the residual gases therefrom'on leach backward piston stroke and reversing lmeans for synchronously shifting the time of admission and ignition of the mixture `to effect thereversal of said engine.

5. An internal combustion engine having va power cylinder, a compression cylinder. lmeans for compressing the air chargelfor said power cylinder' in said compression cylunie of the charge so introduce -whilemain taining the compression constant, and means Tfor igniting the mixture.

6. An internal combustion two-cycle, selfstarting engine having one ormore power cylinders, means for introducing an eXplosive charge into each power cylinder at each forward stroke of its pistonmeans for previously compressing the charge before introduction vinto the cylinder', and variable cutoil means for varying the volume of the charge so Aintroduced without altering the compression thereof.

7. An internal combustion two-cycle, selfstarting engine, having one or more power cylinders, a source of compressed air, a source of fuel supply, means for supplyin the explosive cliarge for each cylinder rom the said source of compressed air and fuel lsupply, variable cut-ott means for varying the time and duration of admission of said.

charge, and means for ignitingl vthe said charge. l

8. An internal combustion two-cycle, selfstarting engine, having one or more-'power cyiinders', k.a .source of compressed air2 .a source of fuel 'supply means'for supplying for each cylinder om ,les

- the seid source of compressed air emi fuelA supply', variable cut-ofi ineens'for varying the time anni duration of admission of said charge, means for igniting the said charge,

and means for varying the time of ignition.

9. An internati combustion, two-cycle, seifstarting engine comprising e power cylinder and a piston therein, e compression cylinder and its piston for compressing the air charge for the engine, e reservoir to receive uid from seid compressor cylin-` under pressure der and in Communication With said power cylinder, e valve for controlling the delivery of e compressed air and fuel mixture to the power cylinder' et each double stroke of its piston, means 'for varying the action of seid valve ttf-control the eut-0E of seid mixture,

ignition means, and means for verying'tiie 'timing of the ignition means with the timing of said cutoff.

10. An internal combustion,twooyc1e, selfstarting engine comprising two or more power cylinders' each with its Working piston, a compression'cylinder with its istoinv means to supply 'a mixture of fuel an coinpressed air from seid compression cylinder to said power eyliner or cylinders for Putiiizetion on each forward stroke, variable cut-k off means for varying the time of admission and'cut-ofi' of-seid mixture supply, means for exhausting the residual gases on .each return stroke, and ignition means for igniting the supplied miiiture of ueiand compressed zur. y

In testimony vWhereoi' have signed my 35 name to this speeiicaton,` in the vpresence of two subscribing Witnesses.

ANDREW L. BIKER.

Witnesses:

WM. STEEL, Jr., FREDERICK EMEBY..

Copies of this patent may he @hitsigefor Ave cents eaeh, by addreugth (Soumissions: of intent. Washiug'tomp. 13. 

